Hold Your Horses: A My Little Pony Story

Chorus, Prose, and Ginger Blush all began to stir from their magically-induced sleep. One by one, they opened their eyes to observe their new surroundings. At first, it was almost impossible to discern what they were looking at, as every detail of the place was monochromatically, blindingly white. Well, everything except for the translucent, chrome green wall keeping them individually trapped wherever they were.

Prose stood up from the ground and tried to decipher where exactly she had somehow ended up. She was trapped. She placed her hoof onto the white walls of her cell, which were cold to the touch. After observing every barren wall that surrounded her, she arrived at the see-through barrier. She could see her cell wasn't the only one there. She saw green barriers, just like hers, placed periodically down a long, long stretch of a white, white hallway. She could see one cell directly across the hallway from her, but more importantly, she could see the pony trapped inside.

"Chorus!?" she called out.

Chorus turned his head from the walls of his white cell to the pony calling out his name from across the hall. Through the translucent walls separating them, he could see a familiar face.

"Prose!?" Chorus called back.

"Do you know what's going on?" Prose worriedly asked.

"Not a clue," Chorus admitted.

Chorus and Prose heard some hoofsteps coming from the cell next to Prose.

"Chorus and Prose? Is that you guys?" a voice called out.

"Ginger Blush!?" Chorus and Prose called out in unison.

"What's going on?" Ginger asked. "Where are we?"

"We're just as lost as you," Prose confessed.

After a brief moment of silence, the ponies could hear faint hoofsteps echo from down the hallway. Pushing his cheek up against the green barrier, Chorus got a look down the hallway at a figure approaching their cells.

"Somepony's coming!" Chorus shout-whispered.

The ponies cautiously awaited the arrival of the mysterious pony from down the hall. As the hoofsteps drew closer, they began to make out her features, illuminated by the brightness of the white hallway. She was a unicorn. Her cream-colored coat paled in contrast to her deep teal mane. A single stripe of neon green sliced through the center of her mane, creating quite an interesting look for this mysterious unicorn. If her coloring wasn't strange enough, her accessories surely set her apart from the ponies back home. Four wristwatches adorned her front left leg, all ticking in time. They were complimented by the small clock necklace that dangled around the unicorn's neck.

As the unicorn approached closer, it became apparent that her attention was not focused on Chorus, Prose, or Ginger Blush. A magic screen hovered in front of her, which she viewed through thin, green glasses. She muttered and mumbled to herself as she walked down the hallway. Ginger Blush watched as the unicorn passed right by her cell, and Chorus and Prose watched as she passed right by theirs as well. Prose stepped up to her green barrier and tried to grab the unicorn's attention.

"Uh... hello!" Prose spoke.

The unicorn stopped in her tracks, and the screen in front of her disappeared. She turned around to face the ponies in their cells.

"Oh, right. The new arrivals," she spoke.

"Where are we? What is this? What's going on?" Chorus asked in rapid succession.

The unicorn turned to face Chorus within his cell.

"Technically speaking, you're nowhere," she began. "You've been detained, by me, for the best interest of Equestria."

"Detained?" Chorus scoffed. "We didn't do anything!"

"You haven't done anything yet," the unicorn clarified.

"Yet?" Ginger Blush questioned.

"What do you mean 'nowhere'?" Prose interrogated.

The unicorn sighed, as if she'd heard this question too many times before.

"You're in a high-security, magically-powered, independently-owned containment center outside of space and time," she quickly recited, as if that answer was rehearsed. "I guess I can give you the rundown, if you really need it."

Prose looked at Chorus across the hall, and then back at the unicorn.

"Yea, I think some explanation might be nice," Prose remarked.

The unicorn sighed and put on a fake customer service smile before delivering her spiel.

"Hello new arrivals! I'm F.P., but you can call me Effie. After intense deliberation, it has been decided that your existence must be cleansed from the timeline in order to ensure the future of Equestria. Thank you so much for your understanding during this time, and I hope this place begins to feel just like home oh so very soon!" As Effie finished her speech, the fake smile dropped from her face, and she returned to her slightly irritated disposition.

"So that's it?" Chorus protested. "We just don't get to exist anymore because you say so?"

"The universe says so, Chorus," Effie stated. "The future depends on it."

"The future? Are you..." Ginger Blush started.

Effie turned to Ginger Blush.

"From the future? Yes. To you, I'm from the future. Any more questions?" Effie looked between the three ponies' cells. She visibly wanted to get back to whatever she was doing before she was interrupted.

"What are we supposed to do? Just sit here?" Prose gestured around to her empty cell.

Effie turned and began to walk away.

"You'll be let out for recreation time soon. Until then, yes, you'll have to sit tight."

Effie disappeared down the hallway, out of sight of the ponies.

"We're in time jail," Chorus remarked.

The ponies sat in silence for a few brief moments as they grasped their situation.

"What do we do?" Ginger Blush paced around her cell.

Prose's eyes lit up as she thought of an idea.

"Chorus, can you sing us out of here? Surely the cells can be opened with magic."

"Are you sure? Her magic seems more powerful than mine," Chorus admitted.

"What other choice do we have?" Prose spoke.

Chorus looked down at his hooves, considering the possibilities.

"I guess you're right," he confessed.

Chorus stood back in his cell, preparing his escape spell. Magic began to spark in his horn as he began a song.

Nothing's gonna keep us here

Trapped inside these stalls

Save us from untimely fate

And break down these walls

Chorus cast his magic toward the green cell door and immediately regretted that decision. As soon as his pink magic struck the barrier, it began to glow green, almost like it was being infected. Suddenly his magic retracted back into his horn, resulting in a huge burst of magic energy, sending his entire body into a shocking and searing pain.

Prose and Ginger Blush watched as Chorus writhed on the floor of his cell, unable to help him. They winced at his pain, hoping he was all right.

"Chorus? Are you okay?" Ginger Blush called out.

Chorus laid in pained silence for a few moments.

"I think we should wait for recreation time," he muttered.